Zohran Mamdani may be leading the polls in the race for NYC Mayor, but throughout America, he is very disliked.
I took a deep dive into Zohran Mamdani’s numbers. I’m not sure if people realize this, but he is actually one of the most *unpopular* Democrats in the country in a way that Harris/Newsom/AOC are not. And it’s not even all that close, per our new poll. https://t.co/bP6PFXrQGq
— Lakshya Jain (@lxeagle17) October 24, 2025
Zohran Mamdani’s “Improbable, Audacious and (So Far) Unstoppable Rise” has prompted Democrats, socialists, journalists, and progressive activists across the country to wonder: What can Democrats learn from him?
Do Democrats need to move left? Do they need to advance a bold, populist agenda similar to Mamdani’s calls to freeze the rent, with public grocery stores and free buses? Or is it his charisma and fluency in short-form video content that drove his insurgent campaign?
Mamdani will almost certainly be the next mayor of New York. He has undoubtedly captured the attention of large swaths of the media and political elite. But there’s just one awkward problem for those seeking to copy the Mamdani magic: Outside of NYC, Zohran Mamdani is not popular.
Over our last three national surveys, we have polled the national favorability ratings of five Democrats: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, Zohran Mamdani, and Chuck Schumer. When comparing aggregate favorability ratings across our entire polling dataset, Mamdani’s net favorability numbers (minus 13) are worse than everyone else’s, save for Schumer.
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People also hate Chuck Schumer. Snicker.
When the national media is based in NYC, it covers its city as if it's the nation
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) October 24, 2025
And it's not
And they don't care https://t.co/nQcj7vmkNg
They live in a bubble and think the world revolves around them.
Amazing to see all the people saying his election had national import now expressing shock that anyone cares about a local election. https://t.co/em2Q0AsTex
— SteveBikes (bona fide) (@stevebikes) October 24, 2025
Unfortunately, just because NYC isn't 'the world', it is a major US city and what happens there does have far reaching effects.
Zohran Mamdani is the Democratic nominee in ***New York City*** and is struggling to crack 50%. He is blessed that his most plausible challenger both in the primary & the general is someone as unbelievably flawed as Andrew Cuomo. https://t.co/ssLEsxBifF
— Jerry Dunleavy IV 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) October 24, 2025
This has been a disconnect for Democrats for years. Because newsrooms tend to be so far left, they focus on candidates who are popular in deep blue cities like NYC and the coverage doesn’t account for how unpopular those views are elsewhere. https://t.co/oYGl2dTWqi
— AG (@AGHamilton29) October 24, 2025
The rest of America is aghast while they cheer a literal communist.
Social media — and NYC Dem voters — aren’t real life: https://t.co/O71oBhZaHE
— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) October 24, 2025
I get the impression from reading this that even the author was surprised by the depth of Mamdani's unpopularity. Which makes me wonder, does that make it easier for Trump to attack him, or could Trump's attacking him actually boost his image? We'll find out in a few months. https://t.co/KRAq739GgK
— Varad Mehta (@varadmehta) October 24, 2025
Time will tell.